The Innkeeper

Lex's breakthrough took around 20 minutes. The moment it was completed, Lex was momentarily overwhelmed by the immense burst of information he started receiving, but quickly adapted. His senses had become infinitely more sensitive, to the point where on his skin, he could even feel the subtle vibration of the blood flowing through his veins. He could hear his own breathing like a gale and see everything in such detail that he could not comprehend it.

But the sensory overload lasted only a moment, for his brain quickly adapted, and as if he had been doing so his entire life, he started filtering out the information he didn't need subconsciously.

It was exactly for this reason as well that he immediately picked up the muffled sounds of a prolonged conversation, even through the insulted material that made his door. Carefully, he got up from the bed, remembering the time when he started cultivating and almost destroyed his own apartment due to a lack of control. He tiptoed to the door and opened the door.

He was pleasantly surprised to see Amelia, but also shocked by the overload of information he got from looking at Cwenhild. His instincts were a lot stronger now, and he picked up on a lot more than just immediate danger to himself. He could tell just by being in her proximity that she was extremely dangerous, and at the same time, that she could do absolutely nothing to him.

Likewise, Amelia, who was somewhere towards the peak of the Foundation realm, suddenly posed no threat to him at all. At the same time, he picked up a strange feeling from her, as if she were uncomfortable or nervous or something.

"Amelia, what're you doing here so late?" he asked, temporarily ignoring Cwenhild.

"I just got done with class and I saw your message, so I came to see you. The way you just showed up without sending any message first, did you get kicked out of the expedition for wooing too many seniors?"

"Not at all. My return was just too hectic to send any messages," he replied with a smile, not going into too much detail at the moment. Then he turned to Cwenhild and her two companions and said, "hi I'm Lex. I don't believe we've met."

"No, we haven't," Cwenhild said in the most polite tone she could muster, flashing Lex a smile that could cause anyone to swoon. Honestly, her relationship with her other step-siblings was horrible, so she didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Lex. "But your reputation roars like thunder among the students, so I wanted to introduce myself to you."

Lex raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. His reputation? He hardly knew anyone here. What reputation was there to talk about? Still, he was curious about her, so he invited them in.

"Well, come on inside. I would offer you all something to drink or eat, but I don't really have much at home."

Even as he said that, he ordered some snacks to be delivered to his apartment via the dorms room service application. Amelia had been to his place before, so she knew what condition he lived in, and was not surprised but Cwenhild… well, she hid her feelings well, but internally she was a little surprised. It was a good thing she dismissed her attendants before coming in. It would not do if rumors about Lex started to spread because of her.

Even though the famous King did not care much for his children, each and everyone of his partners was from an extremely prominent family, or were themselves extremely well off. Someone living in such squalor was… unheard of. He almost had no personal belongings at all. Considering the fact that Lex was currently dressed in the academy uniform… she wondered if he even had other clothes. The uniform was expected during classes, but otherwise was not mandatory.

"Not at all," said Cwenhild, "I came over unannounced as is. How can I expect you to host me under such circumstances?"

"I am curious about what you've heard about me," said Lex as he carefully sat down. So far, he hadn't shown any indication of losing control of his strength, despite not having any time to adjust his state after his breakthrough, and he was quite proud of it.

"Instead of asking what I've heard about you, I think the question should be, what have I not heard?" she said with a light laugh.

"The stories were so outrageous, from facing an Immortal to shooting at one with a simple weapon, to the tales of your numerous feats at your latest expedition. Even if I took them with a grain of salt, or a whole fistful of it, they were too much. I had to investigate. But the school reports I found were… even more bizarre than the stories."

"I can't believe… people are actually talking about me, especially about the expedition - that literally just happened." Lex didn't know whether to feel flattered or creeped out. Who were these people talking about him, and how had his stories spread?

"Oh come now, don't be humble. You weren't the only one who was brought back from the expedition, and everyone who came back was full of praise for you. Actually, I head to the hospital first to meet you, because when I read the report on the returnees, I thought you'd still be in the hospital. Based on the pictures… I'm surprised you're awake, let alone good enough to return home."

Amelia was suddenly alarmed at hearing the mention of Lex being hospitalized, but Lex instead was intrigued about what that revealed about Cwenhild. He knew that someone would definitely report everything that had happened with him during the expedition, but being able to get access to academy records like that was no simple task. Even among school personnel, one would need relevant authority to read files pertaining to things like this. In a situation where a Spirit well was involved, Lex imagined the authority should have been even higher.

"You've heard a lot about me, but I don't seem to know anything about you," said Lex, shifting the focus of the conversation. He didn't think a simple introduction warranted someone like her looking for him all over.

Cwenhild smiled, as if anticipating this change, and said, "What's there to say about me? My life is not nearly as interesting as yours. I'm just a simple girl, stuck under a couple of overbearing parents. That's the reason why I wanted to meet with you, in fact. Of all your achievements, dropping your family name might be the greatest of them all."

Amelia suddenly became extremely tense, as she too had heard the rumors about Lex's origins. In the time she had known him, he never brought it up, and she never asked him about his past, but it would be a lie to say she never wondered about it.

"My greatest achievement?" Lex repeated, confused. Suddenly, he felt a little offended. There was no shortage of incredibly insane things that he had done since he came to the Crystal realm. How could claiming he had no last name be a greater achievement? It was ridiculous.

Seeing that Lex continued with the facade, Cwenhild smiled.

"Well, isn't it? The rumor is, you dropped your family name because you were dissatisfied with your father. That you wanted to carve out your own legend and create your own legacy, unrelated to the Cornelius name."

Lex did not immediately make the connection between the name she mentioned and the king, for he was too bewildered by the story attached to him.

"Me? Carve out a legend?" he said, laughing. "I have no interest in legend, I am… no, wait, did you say Cornelius? As in, the royal family?"

His ignorance of the implied meaning behind Cwenhilds words did not last long, for with his increase in cultivation, his brain worked much faster.

"That's ridiculous," Lex said, laughing even harder. "How can I be connected to the royal family? I'm just a simple man, trying to survive in a chaotic world. I am not trying to create any legends, I'm just trying to live a good life. Besides, how believable is it for a member of the royal family to be randomly roaming around? I'm afraid that's one of the more ridiculous rumors you've probably heard."

"Why can't the children of the King randomly walk around?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. She was careful not to say members of the royal family, for one would need the King's actual recognition before could make that claim. "After all, I, Cwenhild Haugen Cornelius, am a daughter of the Kings and aren't I here, 'walking around' right beside you?"

Both Lex and Amelia were startled by her revelation. Lex, who had been so meticulous so far, lost control of his strength, and ripped the arm off his chair and in the silence that followed, both by the revelation and Lex's minor display of strength, there was a knock on the door. The food had arrived.